HeriQ and

LLIGHT on Heritage

Interpret Europe International Conference, 2014

Primosten, Croatia

Heritage Interpretation and Tourism

Bildungswerk interpretation, Germany National Association for Small and Medium Business, Bulgaria Heritage Interpretation Center, Bulgaria APARE - Association for Regional Participation and Action, France PANGEA INSTITUTE- European Institute for Environmental

Education, Interpretation and Training, Italy The Mediterranean Centre of Environment, Greece

Who we are?

Introduction and transfer of qualities and standards associated with the ParcInterp system to train interpretive agents and

interpretive guides

HeriQ is about

Mountain guidesTourism guidesMuseum guides

Who is the addressee

The logical chain for reasoning of the HeriQ

project within the LLL context: quality heritage

interpretation criteria and standards - quality

heritage products - heritage based sustainable

activities – economic growth for communities

Introduced quality standards in heritage interpretation in partners’ countries

Introduced innovative approach in VET training of guides

Certified interpretive agents and trained interpretive guides from receiving countries

A manual for interpreters in six languages Best practices booklet

HeriQ main outcomes

What was found during the HeriQ Needs

Analysis excersize in Bulgaria, at meetings,

discussions and study visits? How this relates

to the IE conference issue of today?

HeriQ first step: Needs Analysis in

France, Bulgaria and Greece

The key point: Sustainability of tourism is in the hands of tourism establishments

What was an issue for tourism establishments?

• How to do it as to get what they want from heritage interpretation – a visible effect

• How to measure successful heritage interpretation - people in a leisure setting at locations enjoy the result from quality interpretation effort, but behind the curtain there are businesses who should make profit as to be able to sustain the heritage interpretive product.

When it is correct that 80% of economic activities are related to heritage (UNESCO statistics), right ways have to be found that heritage interpretation contributes to the growth of businesses in a similar way as it contributes to the richness of mind, soul, senses, preservation and sustainable development.

The learning enterprise model of the Scottish Sea Bird Center

What did we think during the needs’ analysis?

Tourism, as a powerful economic development tool when done right helps both to protect our nation’s natural and cultural treasures and strengthen local economies.

Linking tourism with heritage and culture can do more for local economies than promoting them separately.

Tourism traditionally is selling ready products to travelers - B&B, etc. with no contribution of local heritage interpretation. When quality heritage interpretation backs up tourism offers, tourism takes more from heritage in coexistence. Then, the protection comes.

Words like “standards” and “criteria” in heritage interpretation evoke association with engineering, technology and boundaries on creativity.

Museum workers do not like the idea that they might not exhibited/explained their items in a perfect way. They perceive technical correctness as most important, visitor is the second. Good news: the need for quality messages on heritage to visitors (content mg) was acknowledged.

Some of our findings

Too much and too academic texts at sites/museums, which make visitor lose integrity and interest.

What about historical maps in museums? Is it easy to read/understand them?

Are museums for children as well? Are expositions attractive and understandable for children? Who explains them what they see? When the texts are mostly for adults and too specialised.

Engage key professionals at sites/museums in interpretive action, build a team together with professional interpreters – as done in a classical mg consultancy job.

Build synergy and exploit heritage to achieve diversity in tourism services based on local capacity and potential integrating evident and attractive local/regional heritage.

What to do?

use understandable words, avoid academic language

The appealing traveler’s philosophy coincides with the philosophy approach of Rudolf Steiner: food, health and spiritual development. Interpretive planning and heritage interpretation could be targeted at continuously learning good practices following these trends in tourism.

Lidewij Edelkoort, a futurist and trend forecaster at Studio

Edelkoort in Paris: “The life will slow down, leisure time will increase, and people will be categorized by rather how do they

spend their free time than what do they do at work”

Scottish Seabird Centre St. Sofia Church Necropolis, София Multimedia Visiting Centre – Carevgrad

Turnov National Museum of Natural History, Sofia National Archaeological Reserve Kabile,

Yambol Archaeological Museum Plovdiv

Interpretative practices

Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany

GLEN MICHAEL H. – Chair of the Supervisory Committee of Interpret Europe, UK

Dr. Stefano Spinetti, President of the Italian Association of Nature Guides), Italy

Prof. Tiziana Banini, PhD, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy

Dionyssia Hatzilakou, Ministry of Tourism, Greece, (formerly at the Ministry of Environment), Greece

Mme Claude Bouliou, member of the APARE Board, former director for Culture and Education in the Council of Alpes de Haute Province, France

Mme Maria Ivanova, Tourism Policy Directorate, Bulgaria

Our Honorary Advisory Board

Direct impact (revenues from direct spend on heritage tourism products)

Indirect (from the heritage supply chain and procurement by heritage industry on goods & services) - measured by GDP and employment

Induced (spending of staff wages on goods & services) – measured by GDP & employment

Our approach, based on the economic impact of heritage tourism economy

The conclusion after discussions with tourism establishments on sustainable heritage tourism was that we need to: collaborate with “owners” of heritage phenomena; “owners” need to collaborate with/involve visitors in interpretative effort to make their experience alive; interpretation should be balanced between interests of local people (what they can afford and are capable to offer - infrastructure, etc.) and visitors; be authentic and provide quality of detail;

Success factors for heritage tourism, which seem to be valid

Contacts:• E. Negulova, NASMB, Sofia e.negulova@nasmb-bg.org• M. Kaisheva, Center for Heritage

Interpretation mborisova@bitex.com

Thank you for your kind attention!

http://heriq.org/

Artist: Magdalina Angelova

Schoolgirl, participant in

the competition for comics of

Europass